Cowboys' turnover ratio is problem No. 1

By Tom Orsborn |
October 8, 2012

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo will have to do a better job of securing the football against a ballhawking Ravens defense, which is among the NFL leaders in takeaways, after throwing five interceptions in last week's loss to the Bears.

Garrett spent Sunday watching NFL games. It reinforced his belief that he needed to stress to his team - again - the correlation between winning, losing and turnover ratio.

"Taking care of the football and going to get the football, that's line one in this game and has been for a long, long time," Garrett said Monday in Irving. "You saw it all over the games this weekend, so we just have to do a better job of that."

Ill-fated five

The Cowboys (2-2) entered Week 5 next to last in the NFL in turnover ratio at minus-7. Dallas suffered five turnovers - all via interceptions thrown by Tony Romo - in losing 34-18 to Chicago in Week 4.

If Garrett watched the Bears' 41-3 thrashing of Jacksonville on Sunday, he saw a familiar sight: Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs returning interceptions for scores. The two also scored on picks of Romo six days earlier, making them the first teammates in NFL history to each return an interception for a TD in consecutive games.

"On offense, ball security is a team thing," Garrett said. "It starts with the guys up front, the guys protecting, the guys blocking, certainly the guys who have the ball in their hands. And similarly, on defense, if you create havoc for the quarterback and he has to do things quicker than he wants, typically those result in interceptions."

Three of the Cowboys' next five opponents are on the plus side in turnover ratio. Up next is a trip to AFC North-leading Baltimore (4-1), which is sixth in the NFL and third in the AFC in turnover ratio at plus-6.

Opposite ends

The Ravens are among the leaders in the NFL in takeaways with 12 (six interceptions, six fumble recoveries). Dallas is near the bottom in that category with just four (one interception, three fumble recoveries).

"It's a personal challenge each one of us has to accept," cornerback Brandon Carr said when asked about creating takeaways.

Carr said the good news is that the players returned from their time off re-energized.

"We just erased the last four weeks out of our memory," he said. "Guys are eager to go out there and mix it up."